Rotary fluid-pressure apparatus



Nov. 10 1925.

B. M. FINE ROTARY FLUID PRESSURE APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 18. 1920 4g 1 r 6 m a Q 8 i 3 m N W W wm ufl A 4 a q, I I V a I v d 7 j 0 2 I 6 m u .w B a m uqlllll fwlml/flm l/ awoe/wtoz 3% 1w a Bermrdflli'he 'N ov.10, 1925- 1,561,068- B. M. FINE mum: IFLUIQDYPRESSURE APPARATUS Filed March 18, 1920 Patented Nov. 10, 1925.

PATENT came.

BERNARD ivc. ems, or iiA'sT 'oitnriii, eraser.

Romans? rnuztmrnnssunn ArrAnA'rus.

Application filed March 18, 1920. Serial No. 367,026.

T all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, BERNARD M. FINE, a citizen of the United States, and resident of East Orange, in the county of Essex and 6 State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Rotary Fluid-Pressure Apparatus, of which the followingis a specification.

The invention relates to rotary fluid pressure generating apparatus such as rotary compressors, engines and the like; and it has reference more particularly to means for sealing the rotatable power shaft thereof in manner to obviate the use of all fabric, metallic or similar packing in a stuffing box usually provided about the shaft.

The apparatus, moreover, is designed more particularly to prevent the escape, about the driving shaft, of the working medium as well as the entrance of any external fluid; and to provide at the same time suitable lubricant to the apparatus to serve, also, as a sealing medium. v

The invention is herein described as applied to household refrigerating apparatus of the character set forth in my cogpengling application, Serial No. 361,778, filed February 27th, 1920.

In the accompanying drawings+ V Fig. 1 illustrates diagrammatically, and in part section, the general arrangement of a household type of refrigerating apparatus equipped with the improved means for sealmg.

Fig. 2 is a detail longitudinal section of clutch mechanism employed.

Figs. 3 and A} are transverse vertical sections taken on the lines 3 4, Fig. 2, and looking in the direction of the arrowsFig. 3 showing the relative position of the clutch lugs when the apparatus is at rest, while Fig. 4 shows the relative position of said lugs when the apparatus is in motion.

Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic view illustrating a modification.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary horizontal section thru the sealing and pump mechanism thereof.

Fig. 7 is a vertical section, taken on the line 7-7, Fig. 6, of one form of pump device which may be employed.

.Fig. 8 is a vertical section, taken on the line 8-8, Fig. 6, of a combined lubricant pump and drive mechanism, employed in thesy'stem shown in Fig. 5.

Similar characters of reference designate corresponding parts thruout the several views. 7

Referring to the drawings, 10 designates a motor of any suitable type which, th-ru a clutch mechanism 11 hereinafter more fully described, operates to drive pumping mechanism 1 2 for circulating a suitable or liquid, for example for refrigerating purp0sesall of which is more fully set forth in my aforesaid co-pending application.

The present invention has reference more particularly to means for preventing the escape of the working medium, by way of the driving shaft, from the pumping mechanism by which it is compressed and circulated, and to afford the necessary lubricatioll of Said mechanism. 1

To this end, a suitable vis'cous fluid or lubricant is employed and so introduced to the pumping mechanism as to act as a packing as well as a means to enhance the degree of compression andoperation, .of theparts. This lubricant or viscous fluid is collected, for example, in the lower part of a condensing. or separator vessel 13, being therefore under the pressure existingtherein; and by virtue of same,is forced thru thepipe 14 to an enlargement or chamber 15 of the bearing for the driving shaft 16. .lR-eference being had more particularly to Fig; 1,- of the drawings, it will be noted that the pipe 14, thru chamber 15, delivers the lubricant into an axial bore 17 extending in one direction thru the driving shaftand thence a portion to working chamber 18 of the pump 12, thus supplying sufficient of the sealing lubricant thereto to afford an ample supply for operation of the pump. Also, the lubricant delivered thru the far end of the bore will react against the end bearing wall 19 and exert a thrust tending to force the l"on'- gitudinally slidable shaft 16 againsta shoulder 20 of the bearing,- the shaft being reduced at this end to conform to said shoulder. Thefinid thus entering the chamber 15 will be substantially at the pressure existing inthe separator, which pressure will obtain also in the working chamber 18 r of the pump 12. The lubricant introduced would thus tend to diffuse toward the working chamber 18 in one direction and in the other direction along the driving shaft .16, past shoulder 20 of the bearings In the first instance, it will be resisted by the clon-l' gated bearing for the snaft and by unequal and opposite pressure existing, 'thegreater' part of-.the time, within the working 01m her or the apparatus; Any small amount which might thus enter the' workingchant, her would be of no detriment but, on the con trary, would serve to enhance the compression, However, in the other direction, uame-' ly along the shaft 16, resistance to leakage also will be offered due tothe elongated bearing and by the constricted opening formed, between the shoulder and the reduced portion of the shaft. Fluidwhich es capes at this .point'is designed to be caught in a suitable reservoir placcdbeneath the shaft and bearing; and, when a suliicient quantitythereof has collected, the same is returned thru pipe 26 to the sepal'atoigvcs Sci 18 under the action of a pump 27 Operated from the shaft 16, communication between the pump chamber 28 and reservoir 25 being controlled by a float 29,-as is well understood. The iioat controlled pump in-' let is for the purpose of preventing the entrance of a foreign medium in the event sealing medium is not presentin'the tank. Or, the return of the fluid may be efiected in any other suitable manner, for 'example,as hereinafter set forth.

So long as the arrangement is such that more fluid will be delivered, to the chain ber 15 thru the feed or supply pipe 14 than can escapeabout-the shoulder 20, no loss of the working medium will vresult. be understood, however, in case high pres sures are employed that the end thrust on the shaft 16 will be undesirably large and would therefore effect too great a frictional power loss at the shoulder 20. Therefore,

means should beprovided for affording suitable opening at this point during operation. It will be appreciated, also, that'this opening should again be closed when the device is inoperative to prevent the escapeof the refrigerating or working medium, as it is evident that the same will expand during a period of inactivity and force outall'of V the sealing flu d-or lubrlcant;

To provide for the aforesaidaction, the clutch 11 consisting of the two halves shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 1 are so arranged that one half will have an initial rotation prior to the other. This rotation, in turn, is designed to effect a longitudinal motion of the shaft 16 to slide its reduced end away from the shoulder 20 at the beginning of the pumping action and to reverse this motion and allow of the closing of-the space between the reduced end of the shaft .16 and n will shoulder 20 when the apparatus is shut downand inoperative. To this end, a coil spring 80 is mounted about the two clutch halves and one end thereof secured to the one halfand the other end thereof to the other half, said halves each beingprovided respectively with a pair of lugs 30' and 30 adapted for engagement with each other in the operation of the clutch to transmit the rotation of the motor to the shaft 16. Fig.

3 indicates the'position of the clutch halves when at rest and Fig. i'theposition of the same during running'of the apparatus. A

shouldered screw 81, moreover, is fixedly cured in the end bruit motor shaft to whichshaft the one motor clutch half is so]- cured; The screw 31, furthermore, is pro- 'videdwith an extension 33which threads into the otheror pump shaft. clutch half,

the latter clutch half being fixedly secured to the shaft 16. In this manner, in commencing operations, Fig. 3, the lugs 30 of the motor clutclrhalf'will be required to make a fractional rotation before picking up the corresponding lugs 30 of the pump shaft half; and in so doing, the threaded extension 33 causes an advance in the clutch' ted lines-to return thesa'id shaft to substair tially seal the constriction between its reduced'end portion and the said shoulder 20.

In applications where the working pressures are low, so that the friction power loss due to a metal to metal contact at shoulder 20 is of no consequence, and, at the same time, where the loss of the sealing medium by way of shoulder 20 is of no moment, the reser voir 25 and mechanism pertaining thereto maybe omitted.

'In Figs. 5, 6 and 8, a modified arrangement is shown, a sealing medium being in jected from a free state, that is to say from a reservoir 35 which is in communication with theseparator tank 13 thru a pipe .36, the supply to the reservoirbeingcontrolled by a float 37 operating to desert valve 38 when the proper level of liquid in the reservoir is obtained. WVhen this occurs, the

liquid is picked up byv a gear pump 0.0111 prislng two gear wheels meshing with each other, the onebeing driven by the shaft 16 and the other on shaft 40 for operating the 1 pump 12. In this manner, the transmission device for operating the pump 12 serves also as a pump by which the liquid in reservoir 35 is forced against the pressure in the feed line 14; and as this pressure is equivalent to that in the working chamber 18 of the pump no escape of the working medium can take place. Shaft 16 operates, with reference to the shoulder 20 to prevent escape of lubricant and working medium about the said driving shaft, in manner similar to that already described in connection with the apparatus shown in Fig. 1.

I claim:

1. In rotary fluid pressure apparatus: sealing medium, a power shaft axially movable by said medium, a bearing cooperating with said shaft adapted to receive the seal.- ing medium and sealing thereby the contained portion of the shaft, and means to supply said medium under pressure to said bearing.

2. In rotary fluid pressure apparatus: sealing medium, an axially movablepower shaft provided with an axial duct for the sealing medium whereby the said. medium may react against the apparatus and produce an end thrust on the shaft for moving same, a bearing cooperating with said shaft adapted to receive the sealing medium and against which liiearing said shaft may shoulder to seal substantially the contained portion of the shaft, and means to supply said medium under pressure to said bearing.

3. In rotary fluid pressure apparatus: sealing medium, an axially movable power shaft, a bearing adapted to receive the sealing medium and against which said shaft may shoulder; and means to effect a relative axial movement between the shaft and its bearing during rotation and to return same to its original position during the period of rest.

In rotary fluid pressure apparatus: sealing medium, an axially movable power shaft, a bearing adapted to receive the sealing medium and against which said shaft may shoulder; a clutch composed of two halves, one half of which "has an initial free rotation to effect a longitudinal movement of the other half.

5. In rotary fluid pressure apparatus: sealing medium, an axially movable power shaft, a bearing adapted to receive the sealing medium and against which said shaft may shoulder; a clutch composed of two halves, one being secured to the power shaft and receiving a threaded extension .of the other half, and resilient means secured to the two halves to rotate one half a predetermined amount relatively to the other half.

6. In rotary fluid pressure apparatus: a power shaft, and means to introduce a sealing li'ibricant thereto; a reservoir to re ceive spent lubricant; and float controlled means controlling the return of the spent lubricant to said power shaft.

7. In rotary fluid pressure apparatus: sealing lubricant, a power shaft axially movable by said lubricant, bearing cooperating with said shaft, adapted to receive the sealing lubricant and sealing thereby the contained portion of the shaft, a reservoir to receive spent lubricant, and a pump operated from the power shaft to return the spent lubricant from the reservoir to the said bearing.

8. In refrigerating apparatus employing an elastic fluid as the refrigerant; rotary pumping means to compress said fluid and including an axially movable driving shaft therefor, sealing lubricant, and a bearing cooperating with. said shaft adapted to receive the sealing lubricant and against which bearing said shaft may shoulder to seal substantially the contained portion of the shaft, and means to supply said lubricant under pressure to the said bearing.

9. In refrigerating apparatus employing an elastic fluid as the refrigerant; rotary pumping means to compress said fluid and including an axially movable driving shaft therefor, sealing lubricant, a bearing cooperating with said shaft adapted to receive the sealing lubricant and against which bearing said shaft may shoulder to seal substantially the contained portion of the shaft, means to supply said lubricant to the said bearing, reservoir to'reeeive spent lubricant, and means for controlling the return of the spent lubricant to said bearing.

10. In refrigerating apparatus employing an elastic fluid as the refrigerant; rotary pumping means to compress said fluid and including an axially movable driving shaft, sealing lubricant and means to supply the same to the driving shaft, a reservoir to re ceive spent lubricant, means for controlling the level of lubricant within the reservoir, and means for controlling the return of the spent lubricant to the said power shaft.

11. In refrigerating apparatus employing an elastic fluid as the refrigerent, rotary pumping means to compress said fluid, including an axially movable driving shaft therefor, a bearing therefor adapted to receive sealing lubricant and against which said shaft may shoulder, means to supply sealing lubricant to the driving shaft, a reservoir to receive spent lubricant, means for controlling the return of the spent lubricant to said power shaft, and means to effect a relative axial movement between the shaft and its bearing during rotation and to return same to its original position during the period of rest.

Signed at New York in the county of New York and State of New York this 16th day of March A. D. 1920.

BERNARD M. FINE. 

